Sandblasted Dublin with Bamboo (52/16) Tobacco Pipe

Tackling the Japanese school with the same poise and determination present in his celebrated English classics, this Dublin from Chris Asteriou is a knock-out piece, balancing natural organicism with impeccable rhythm and just a touch of jauntiness. The strong taper of the bowl itself, coupled with its deep forward cant and slight spur just under the transition, lend a sense of shift just enough visual weight to the front of the composition, yet it's all reined in by the careful attention to spacing through the transition, stem base, and pulsating knuckles of pale bamboo. Fitting to such a balanced, organic style, it's presented here in rich, dark red stain and finished in a detailed sandblast, unveiling an array of rippling growth rings undulating up the bowl.

- Andrew Wike